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Lost artworks

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Portrait of a Lady by Caravaggio, formerly in the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum, Berlin. Believed destroyed in the Friedrichshain Flakturm, Berlin, 1945

Lost artworks are original pieces of art that credible sources indicate once existed but that cannot be accounted for in museums or private collections or are known to have been destroyed deliberately or accidentally, or neglected through ignorance and lack of connoisseurship.

For lost literary works, see Lost work.

Works are listed chronologically by when they were created, not by when they were destroyed or lost.

Classical era

5th century

6th century

8th century

11th century

  • The final portion of the Bayeux Tapestry was deliberately removed at some point, and is now lost.

14th century

  • Panels of the great Maestà altarpiece of Duccio di Buoninsegna, painted for the Duomo of Siena and representing the Coronation of the Virgin, Virgin of the Assumption, Ascension of Christ and Christ in Majesty are missing and presumed lost.
  • The great Navicella mosaic of Giotto di Bondone on the porch of Old Saint Peter's Basilica was extensively reworked in the 17th century.
  • Giotto's allegorical fresco of the Commune of Florence portrayed as a seated judge with sceptre, flanked by figures of Fortitude, Prudence, Justice and Temperance, painted for the Palazzo del Podestà, now the Bargello, Florence. Described by Giorgio Vasari.
  • Giotto's frescoes (Stories of the Apostles) for the Giugni Chapel of the Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence.
  • A lost painting of the Virgin by Giotto was bequeathed by the poet Petrarch to Francesca da Carrara, lord of Padua, in 1370.
  • Fresco, Saint Margaret of Cortona bringing Suppolino back to Life by Ambrogio Lorenzetti in the Church of Santa Margherita, Cortona. Destroyed mid - 17th century.
  • A lost portrait of Petrarch's Laura de Noves by Simone Martini is the subject of one of Petrarch's sonnets.

15th century

  • Virgin Enthroned with Saints and Angels (1402) by Lorenzo Monaco. Destroyed by fire in the Friedrichshain Flakturm following the capture of Berlin, May 1945.
  • Statue of Joshua in terra cotta by Donatello for the north tribune of the Duomo of Florence (c.1410). Disappeared in the 18th century.
  • Statue of Abundance (Dovizia) in stone by Donatello (1428). On a column placed first in the Baptistery of the Duomo, later in the Mercato Vecchio, Florence. Replaced in the 18th century, now lost.
  • Frescoes by Gentile da Fabriano and Pisanello in the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, Rome. Destroyed in reconstruction, 1647.
  • Fresco cycle of 300 images of Illustrious Men by Masolino da Panicale and Paolo Uccello (c. 1432) for the Palace of Cardinal Orsini in Rome. A watercolor copy by Leonardo da Besozzo survives.
  • The Sagra del Carmine, monochrome fresco for the cloister of Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence, by Masaccio (1425) representing the consecration of the church in 1422. Destroyed by 1600.
  • Fresco of the Confirmation of the Rules of the Carmelites by Filippo Lippi in the cloister of Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence. Destroyed by fire, 1771. A fragment uncovered in 1860 survives in place.
  • A Crucifix was painted by Fra Angelico for the Dominican church of Santa Maria Novella, Florence, in 1423.
  • School of Fra Angelico. Last Judgment (1456). Destroyed by fire in the Friedrichshain Flakturm following the capture of Berlin, May 1945.
  • Fresco of the Flagellation by Andrea del Castagno in the cloister of the Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence, destroyed in the 17th century.
  • Frescoes of the life of the Virgin (1450–1452) begun by Domenico Veneziano and completed by Andrea del Castagno in the church of Sant' Egidio (Santa Maria Nuova), Florence. Destroyed 1594.
  • Fresco cycle of the life of Santa Rosa, painted by Benozzo Gozzoli for the church of Santa Rosa, Viterbo. Destroyed by 1632 renovations to the church. Autograph and other drawings and a contemporary description survive.
  • Altarpiece with scenes from the life of Saint Nicholas by Antonello da Messina for the Confraternity of San Nicolò della Montagna in Messina. Seen by Cavalcaselle in 1871. Destroyed in the 1908 Messina earthquake.
  • Virgin and Child in Glory with Saints John the Evangelist, Francis, Jerome and John the Baptist (c. 1496) by Domenico Ghirlandaio. Destroyed by fire in the Friedrichshain Flakturm following the capture of Berlin, May 1945.
  • Several original paintings on "pagan" subjects by Sandro Botticelli, who burned them in the Bonfire of the Vanities.
  • Portrait of Piero di Cosimo de' Medici (c. 1478) by Botticelli. Formerly Museo Civico Gaetano Filangieri, Naples. Destroyed in World War II. Photographs survive.
  • Frescoes on mythological themes, including the Forge of Vulcan, executed by Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, Filippino Lippi and Perugino for Lorenzo de' Medici in the great hall and external loggia of his villa at Spedaletto, near Volterra, 1487-90. Damaged by damp and finally destroyed by fire in the early 19th century.
  • Fresco of the Triumph of Trajan by Vincenzo Foppa, done for the Medici bank in the Via de' Bossi, Milan. A fragment survives in the Wallace Collection, London.
  • Altarpiece for the church of Santa Maria dei Battuti in Belluno (c. 1485) by Alvise Vivarini. Destroyed by fire in Berlin during World War II.
  • Frescoes, including a Baptism of Christ for the Belvedere Chapel of the Vatican (1488) by Andrea Mantegna. Destroyed under Pope Pius VI to permit construction of the Pio-Clementino Museum, 1780.
  • Mantegna's Lamentation of the People over the Dead Gattamelata (1457–60), a fresco in the Palazzo Gattamelata, Padua. Destroyed by fire November 5, 1760.
  • Saint Catherine of Siena Altarpiece (Sacra Conversazione) by Giovanni Bellini in the Chapel of the Rosary of the Church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice. Destroyed by fire in 1867.
  • The Supper at Emmaus (c. 1494) by Giovanni Bellini. Painted for Giorgio Cornaro of Venice. Destroyed by fire in Vienna in the 18th century.
  • Fresco, Ascension with Christ in Glory (c.1478-80) by Melozzo da Forlì for the choir of the Church of the Santi Apostoli, Rome. Destroyed in 1711 for the enlargement of the choir, 1711. Fragments survive in the Vatican and Quirinal.
  • The Court of Pan by Luca Signorelli. Destroyed by fire in the Friedrichshain Flakturm following the capture of Berlin, May 1945.
  • Fresco of Madonna and Saints for the Tower of Città di Castello (1474) by Signorelli. Destroyed by earthquake in 1789.
  • Frescoes of The Calumny of Apelles and The Feast of Pan by Signorelli. Painted for the audience chamber (Camera delle Torre) of the Palazzo Petrucci (Palazzo del Magnifico), Siena.
  • Adoration of the Magi fresco by Perugino for the convent of S. Giusto alla Mura.Destroyed in preparation for the defense of the city during the Siege of Florence in 1529.
  • The lower left panel of Van Eyck's Ghent Altarpiece, titled The Just Judges, was stolen in 1934 and is now lost.
  • Triptych of the Virgin and Child with Donor by Van Eyck (c. 1441). Painted for Nicholas van Maelbeke, provost of St. Martin's Cathedral, Ypres. Removed from the cathedral and lost during the French occupation of The Netherlands, 1792–1815. A 1629 copy was acquired by the Bruges museum in 2007.
  • Crucifixion by Petrus Christus (attributed) (c. 1444). Formerly Dessau Museum. Destroyed by bombing in World War II.
  • The Justice of Trajan and the Justice of Herkenbald by Rogier van der Weyden. Painted for the 'Gulden Camere' (Golden Chamber) of the Brussels Town Hall. The first dated 1439. Destroyed in the French Bombardment of Brussels in 1695.
  • Descent from the Cross altarpiece by Jan Mabuse executed for the church of Middelburg. Destroyed by fire, 1568.
  • Tapestries of the Great History of Troy (c. 1475) for the Painted Chamber of the Palace of Westminster, London. Removed 1820 and sold for ten pounds sterling to a London merchant. Presumed destroyed.
  • Frescos by Piero della Francesca in the Vatican Palace, destroyed (or covered) by Raphael before painting the Stanze.
  • A terracotta statue of a horse (part of the monument to duke Francesco Sforza) by Leonardo da Vinci destroyed by French soldiers during the occupation of Milan in 1499.
  • Frescos by Pisanello representing hunting scenes in the Castle of Pavia, detroyed by French soldiers in 1527.

16th century

  • The Trial of Saint Stephen by Vittore Carpaccio. One of a series of five canvases for the Scuola di San Stefano, Venice. Untraced after 1806. A drawing for the modello survives in the Uffizi.
  • Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints Faustinus and Jovita, patron saints of Brescia (the Averoldi Altarpiece) by Carpaccio. Formerly sacristy of S. Giovanni Evangelista, Brescia. Sold to the National Gallery London, lost in a shipwreck crossing the English Channel.
  • Assumption of the Virgin (c.1507-08) by Fra Bartolomeo. Destroyed by fire in the Friedrichshain Flakturn following the capture of Berlin, May 1945.
  • Medusa (before 1500, unfinished) by Leonardo da Vinci. In the collection of Cosimo I of Tuscany, 1553. Lost since the end of the 16th century.
  • Leda and the Swan (1508) by Leonardo da Vinci. Disappeared from the French royal palace of Fontainebleau after 1623.
  • The Battle of Anghiari by Leonardo da Vinci (Palazzo Vecchio)
  • Cartoon by Michelangelo of the battle of Cascina, Palazzo Vecchio, putatively destroyed by Bandinelli
  • A painting of Leda and the Swan (circa 1530) by Michelangelo. Given by the artist to his friend Antonio Mini who took it to France, where it disappeared.
  • A marble Cupid by Michelangelo, later owned by Isabella d'Este and Charles I of England. Destroyed in a fire at Whitehall Palace, London, 1698.
  • A marble Hercules by Michelangelo, his first free-standing statue (c. 1492-94). Installed in the Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, 1506, sent to France in the 16th century. Disappeared from the French royal palace of Fontainebleau in the 18th century.
  • A bronze statue of David resting his foot on the severed head of Goliath, by Michelangelo.
  • A bronze statue of pope Julius II in the act of blessing by Michelangelo on San Petronio basilica's facade in Bologna, destroyed by the people of Bologna in 1511.
  • Altarpiece of the Madonna and Child with St. Mary Magdalen and St. Lucy (Madonna of Albinea) by Antonio da Correggio.
  • Fresco of The Coronation of the Virgin for the church of San Giovanni Evangelista, Parma, by Correggio. Destroyed 1587. Fragments in National Gallery, London, other museums.
  • Portrait of a Young Man by Raphael. Stolen by Germans from the Czartoryski Gallery in Kraków during World War II, now lost [1].
  • Baronci altarpiece (the Crowning of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino) by Raphael. His first recorded commission, it was made for Andrea Baronci's chapel in the church of Sant'Agostino in Citta di Castello, near Urbino. Destroyed in an 18th c. earthquake. At least four fragments survive (Louvre, Capodimonte).
  • Saint Catherine of Alexandria by Raphael. Formerly owned by Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel. Depicted in an engraving by Wenceslas Hollar. Presumed lost.
  • The Wedding of Neptune and Amphitrite silver bowl by Cellini. Taken from the Chapter of the Basilica of Santa Barbara, Modena, by the French, 1796. Presumed lost.
  • Ascension of Mary altarpiece (The ‘Heller altar’) by Dürer. The central panel added to the collection of Elector Maximilian of Bavaria, later lost in a fire in 1729.
  • Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg, Archbishop of Mainz, Virgin and Child with Four Female Saints and Madonna and Child with Infant Saint John by Cranach the Elder. Destroyed by fire in the Friedrichshain Flakturn following the capture of Berlin, May 1945.
  • Duke Henry of Saxony by Cranach the Elder. Destroyed during the Bombing of Dresden, February 1945.
  • Market Day by Pieter Brueghel the Elder. Depicted in the 17th c. gallery of Cornelis van der Geest painted by Willem van Hoecht.
  • The Farmers Brawl by Breughel the Elder. Destroyed during the Bombing of Dresden, February 1945.
  • Hans Holbein the Younger's Whitehall Mural of Henry VIII and family in Whitehall Palace, London, destroyed by fire in 1698.
  • The Family of Sir Thomas More by Holbein. Destroyed by fire at Kremsier Castle, the Moravian residence of Carl von Liechtenstein, archbishop of Olmutz, 1752.
  • The Goldsmith Hans von Zurich by Holbein. Copied by Lucas Vosterman. Engraved by Wenceslas Hollar. Presumed lost.
  • Various works of Titian (including his Battle of Spoleto, Battle of Cadore and Doge Gritti Praying to the Virgin), Tintoretto (his Coronation of Frederick Barbarossa, Excommunication of Barbarossa and Last Judgment), Paolo Veronese (his Homage of Frederick Barbarossa), Gentile da Fabriano, Pisanello, Carpaccio (his Battle of Ancona), Alvise Vivarini (Otho Promising to Mediate Between Venice and Barbarossa), Guariento (his Paradise), Gentile Bellini (his Battle of Salvore and Presentation of the White Candle to the Pope) and Giovanni Bellini (his Presentation of the Eight Standards and Trumpets to the Doge) were lost in a fire at the Doge's Palace in Venice in 1577.
  • Portrait of Isabella d'Este in Red by Titian. A copy by Rubens is in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
  • The Francesco St Jerome painted c1595 was lost for over 200 year's before being discovered in 2008.
  • Martyrdom of St Peter for the Chapel of the Rosary, Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice, was destroyed by fire in 1867. Copies and engravings survive.
  • Double Portrait of Emperor Charles V and his wife Isabella of Portugal by Titian. Destroyed in the Alcazar palace fire, Madrid, 1734. A copy by Rubens survives.
  • Penitent Magdalene by Titian. Painted for Philip II of Spain, 1561. Destroyed in a fire at Bath House, London, January 21, 1873.
  • Ixion and Tantalus by Titian. Destroyed in the Alcazar palace fire, Madrid, 1734.
  • Paintings of The Twelve Caesars by Titian. Destroyed in the Alcazar palace fire, Madrid, 1734.
  • Venus in Front of her Mirror by Titian. Lost from the Spanish royal collection in the 19th century. A copy by Rubens survives.
  • Apollo and Juno and Saturn Helps Religion to Overcome Heresy by Veronese. Painted c. 1580 for the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, Venice. Destroyed by fire in the Friedrichshain Flakturm, following the capture of Berlin, May 1945.
  • Fresco of God the Father and the Four Evangelists by Pontormo in the Capponi Chapel, Church of Santa Felicita, Florence. Destroyed in 18th century remodeling.
  • Last Judgement Cartoons, (Pontormo, San Lorenzo) covered over.

17th century

  • The Armada Tapestries executed by Hendrick Vroom for Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham, 1602. Sold to James I, 1616 and placed in the House of Lords, London by Oliver Cromwell, 1650. Destroyed in the Burning of Parliament, 1834. Engraved by John Pine, 1739.
  • Equestrian bronze statue of Henry IV of France by Giovanni da Bologna. Presented to Marie de Medicis by Cosimo II of Tuscany in 1614. Melted for cannon during the French Revolution.
  • Time Saving Truth from Envy and Discord by Nicolas Poussin. Untraced since 1840.
  • The Martyrdom of Erasmus (c. 1630) by Poussin, destroyed February 1945 by enemy action in Dresden, Germany.
  • Penance, one of the seven Sacraments (1637–40) by Poussin, destroyed by fire at Belvoir Castle in 1816.
  • Queen Esther Approaching the Palace of Ahasuerus (1658) by Claude Lorrain. Destroyed in a fire at Fonthill Abbey, 1755.
  • Aeneas and the Sibyl of Cumae by Claude Lorrain (Liber Veritatis 183). One of four works commissioned by Prince Falconieri executed 1666-73.
  • Raising of the Cross altarpiece by Peter Paul Rubens. Painted for the Church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, Rome (1601–02).
  • Judith Beheading Holofernes by Rubens (c. 1609). Known only though the 1610 engraving by Cornelius Galle.
  • Madonna of the Rosary by Rubens. Painted for the Royal Chapel of the Dominican Church, Brussels. Destroyed in the French Bombardment of Brussels, 1695.
  • Virgin Adorned with Flowers by Saint Anne by Rubens (1610). Painted for the Church of the Carmelite Friars, Brussels. Destroyed in the French Bombardment of Brussels, 1695.
  • Saint Job Triptych by Rubens (1613). Painted for Saint Nicholas Church, Brussels. Destroyed in the French Bombardment of Brussels, 1695.
  • Cambyses Appointing Otanes Judge, Judgment of Solomon, and Last Judgment by Rubens. Decoration for the Magistrates' Hall, Brussels. Destroyed in the French Bombardment of Brussels, 1695.
  • Neptune and Amphitrite by Rubens (c. 1615). Destroyed by fire in the Friedrichshain Flakturm, following the capture of Berlin, May 1945.
  • Nativity, Adoration of the Magi, and Pentecost by Rubens. Painted for the Chapel of Coudenberg Palace, Brussels. Destroyed by fire, 1731.
  • Susannah and the Elders by Rubens (1617–18). Engraved 1620 by Lucas Vosterman.
  • Satyr, Nymph, Putti and Leopards by Rubens (1618). Now known only from engraving.
  • The Abduction of Proserpine by Rubens. Engraved before 1621 by Pieter Soutman. Destroyed by fire at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, February 5, 1861.
  • Crucifixion with Mary, St. John, Magdalen by Rubens (1622). Destroyed by English Parliamentarians in the Queen's Chapel, Somerset House, London, 1643.
  • Portrait of Philip IV of Spain by Rubens (1628). Destroyed by an incendiary attack at the Kunsthaus, Zurich, in 1985.
  • Diana and Nymphs Surprised by Satyrs by Rubens (c. 1635-38). Destroyed by fire in the Friedrichshain Flakturm, following the capture of Berlin, May 1945.
  • Equestrian Portrait of the Archduke Albert by Rubens.
  • Equestrian Portrait of Philip IV of Spain by Rubens. Destroyed in the Alcazar royal palace fire, Madrid, 1734. A copy is in the Uffizi Gallery.
  • The Continence of Scipio by Rubens. Destroyed by fire in the Western Exchange, Old Bond Street, London, March 1836.
  • The Lion Hunt by Rubens. Removed by Napoleon's agents from Schloss Schleissheim, near Munich, 1800 and sent ultimately to the Bordeaux Museum, where it was destroyed by fire, 1870.
  • Equestrian Portrait of the Duke of Buckingham by Rubens. Later owned by the Earl of Jersey at Osterley Park. Destroyed by fire in 1949.
  • Series of 39 ceiling paintings for the Jesuit Church in Antwerp (nl:Carolus Borromeuskerk#Branden, Dutch wiki), designed by Rubens, largely executed by Van Dyck. Destroyed by fire in 1718.
  • Vision of Saint Hubert by Rubens and Jan Brueghel the Elder. Destroyed by fire in the Friedrichshain Flakturm, following the capture of Berlin, May 1945.
  • Allegories of Sight and Smell and Allegories of Hearing, Taste and Touch by Jan Brueghel the Elder and other artists. Destroyed in the Coudenberg Palace fire, Brussels, 1731.
  • Group Portrait of the Town Council of Brussels by Van Dyck. Destroyed in the Bombardment of Brussels, 1695.
  • Christ Crowned with Thorns, Lamentation over Christ, Nymphs Surprised by Satyrs and Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist by Van Dyck. Destroyed by fire in the Friedrichshain Flakturm, following the capture of Berlin, May 1945.
  • Adoration of the Shepherds (Birth of Christ) by Gerrit van Honthorst. Destroyed in the car bombing of the Uffizi Gallery, Florence, May 1993.
  • Six Gold and Silver Smiths (The "Bankers of Amsterdam") by Thomas de Keyser (1627). One of 30 paintings destroyed by fire at the Musée de Beaux Arts, Strasbourg, August 13, 1947.
  • The Circumcision (1646) by Rembrandt.
  • Bentheim Castle with Christ and Disciples on the Road to Emmaus by Jacob van Ruisdael. Destroyed by fire at the Boijmans Museum, Rotterdam, 1864.
  • Large family portrait by Carel Fabritius. Destroyed by fire at the Boijmans Museum, Rotterdam, 1864.
  • Sleeping Man by Aelbert Cuyp. Destroyed by fire at the Boijmans Museum, Rotterdam, 1864.
  • A Gentleman washing his hands in a see-through room (half-door) with sculptures, artful and rare by Vermeer, listed in the catalogue of the Dissius auction, Holland, 1696.
  • The Inspiration of Matthew first version by Caravaggio (c. 1601) (Destroyed by fire in the Friedrichshain Flakturm, following the capture of Berlin, May 1945.)
  • Christ on the Mount of Olives by Caravaggio (1605). From the collection of Vincenzo Giustiniani. Destroyed by fire in the Friedrichshain Flakturm, following the capture of Berlin, May 1945.
  • Fillide Melandroni (c.1597) by Caravaggio. Destroyed by fire in the Friedrichshain Flakturm, following the capture of Berlin, May 1945.
  • A portrait of Alof de Wignacourt by Caravaggio.
  • Saint John, Saint Francis, and a Resurrection by Caravaggio, done for Sant’Anna dei Lombardi, Naples. Destroyed in an earthquake, 1798.
  • Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence by Caravaggio for the Oratorio of San Lorenzo, Palermo. Stolen in 1969, unrecovered.
  • The Conversion of Saint Paul altarpiece by Orazio Gentileschi, done for the basilica of San Paolo fuori le Mura, Rome. Destroyed by fire, 1823.
  • The Stoning of Saint Stephen altarpiece by Lavinia Fontana, done for the basilica of San Paolo fuori le Mura, Rome. Destroyed by fire, 1823.
  • Hercules and Omphale by Artemisia Gentileschi (1628), painted for Philip IV of Spain. Destroyed in the Alcazar palace fire, Madrid, 1734.
  • Bathsheba by Artemisia Gentileschi (1650–52). Destroyed by fire at Gosford House, Scotland, 1940.
  • La Buonavventura and Ciclo Vito by Bartolomeo Manfredi. Destroyed in the car bombing of the Uffizi Gallery, Florence, May 1993.
  • Danae by Annibale Carracci. Formerly Ellesmere collection, Bridgewater House, Westminster, London. Destroyed by enemy action in World War II, May 11, 1941.
  • Saint Gregory Praying for Souls in Purgatory (c.1600), altarpiece painted by Annibale Caracci for the church of San Gregorio Magno, Rome. Formerly Ellesmere collection, Bridgewater House, Westminster, London. Destroyed by enemy action in World War II, May 11, 1941.
  • Descent from the Cross by Ludovico Carracci. Formerly Ellesmere collection, Bridgewater House, Westminster, London. Destroyed by enemy action in World War II, May 11, 1941.
  • Bacchus and Ariadne by Guido Reni. Commissioned for Queen Henrietta Maria's house at Greenwich, 1637. Destroyed in France in the 17th century by the widow of Michel Particelli d'Hemery, who was scandalized by the female nudes it contained. A fragment with the head of Ariadne survives.
  • Immaculate Conception by Guido Reni. Formerly Seville Cathedral, Spain, later in the Ellesmere collection, Bridgewater House, Westminster, London. Destroyed by enemy action in World War II, May 11, 1941.
  • Bust of Charles I by Bernini, in marble. Destroyed in the Whitehall Palace fire, London, 1698.
  • Crucified Christ by Bernini, in bronze. Formerly in the French royal collection. Destroyed in the French Revolution.
  • Expulsion of the Moors with Philip III (1627) by Velasquez. Destroyed in the Alcazar palace fire, Madrid, 1734.
  • Venus and Adonis by Velasquez. Destroyed in the Alcazar palace fire, Madrid, 1734.
  • Cupid and Psyche by Velasquez. Destroyed in the Alcazar palace fire, Madrid, 1734.
  • Apollo and Marsyas by Velasquez. Destroyed in the Alcazar palace fire, Madrid, 1734.
  • Two portraits of royal jesters, Francesco de Ochoa and Cardenas the Toreador, painted by Velasquez for the Buen Retiro Palace, Madrid.
  • Pelican with Bucket and Donkeys painted by Velasquez for the Palace of Buen Retiro, Madrid.
  • Saint Bonaventure Reveals the Crucifix to Saint Thomas Aquinas by Zurbarán. Destroyed by fire in the Friedrichshain Flakturm, following the capture of Berlin, May 1945.
  • Frescoes of The Labors of Hercules by Luca Giordano painted 1692–1702 for the Buen Retiro Palace of Charles II of Spain, Madrid. Destroyed in the 19th century.
  • Frescoes of the Life of Saint Benedict by Giordano painted for the Abbey of Monte Cassino were destroyed by Allied bombing February 15, 1944.
  • William III Leading Troops at the Battle of the Boyne by Godfrey Kneller. Destroyed by fire in Grocers' Hall, London, September 22, 1965.

18th century

  • The Amber Room of the Catherine Palace in Russia, stolen by Germans during World War II, now lost.
  • The Drawing Lesson and A Girl Reciting her Gospel by Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin.
  • Still Life with Copper Kettle, Bowl with Eggs (1724–25), by Chardin. Destroyed by fire in the Friedrichshain Flakturm, following the capture of Berlin, May 1945.
  • Decorations for the Chateau de la Muette: the Goddess Ki Mao Sao in the Kingdom of Mang in the country of Laos, by Watteau (engraved c. 1719). Demolished at the Revolution.
  • Spring (Printemps), one of a series of four paintings of the Seasons, painted by Watteau for the banker Pierre Crozat. Rediscovered 1964, destroyed by fire two years later. Autumn and Winter from the series remain unaccounted for.
  • Jay and Oriole Hung by the Feet by Jean-Baptiste Oudry. Exhibited at the Salon of 1751.
  • The original paintings of A Harlot's Progress (1731) by William Hogarth were destroyed in a fire at Fonthill Abbey in 1755, but the engravings (1732) survive.
  • Strolling Actresses Dressing in a Barn (1738) by Hogarth was destroyed by fire at Littleton House in December 1874. An engraving by the artist survives.
  • Fresco of The Translation of the Holy House of Loreto by Gianbattista Tiepolo in the Church of the Scalzi, Venice. Destroyed by enemy action (Austrian shell), 1915.
  • Frescoes by Gianbattista and Giandomenico Tiepolo glorifying the Soderini family, Villa Soderini, Nervesa della Battaglia, in the Veneto (c.1754) were totally destroyed during an Italo-Austrian engagement in the First World War, June 15–19, 1918.
  • Ceiling frescoes of The Triumph of the Arts and Sciences, Apollo and Phaethon, Perseus and Andromeda and Juno with Fortuna and Venus by Gianbattista Tiepolo in the Palazzo Archinto, Milan. Destroyed by bombardment in World War II.
  • Nativity, The Infant Jupiter, General James Oglethorpe and sixteen other works of Sir Joshua Reynolds were destroyed by fire at Belvoir Castle in 1816.
  • Gainsborough's whole-length of David Garrick leaning on a bust of Shakespeare, painted for the Stratford Shakespeare Jubilee (1766) was destroyed in a fire at Stratford-upon-Avon Town Hall in 1946.
  • The Woodman and his Dog in a Storm (1787) by Gainsborough. Destroyed by fire at Exton Old Park,1810. A 1791 mezzotint by Pierre Simon exists.
  • Cottage Children with an Ass by Gainsborough. Destroyed by fire at Exton Old Park,1810. Survives in mezzotint.
  • The Destruction of Niobe's Children by Richard Wilson. Formerly National Gallery, London. Destroyed by enemy action in World War II, 1944.
  • Bust of the composer Gluck in marble by Jean-Antoine Houdon. Destroyed by fire at the Paris Opera, 1873. Terra cotta versions exist.
  • The Eidophusikon (1781) by Philip James de Loutherbourg.
  • Louis-Michel le Peletier, marquis de Saint-Fargeau on his Death Bed (1793) by Jacques-Louis David.

19th century

  • Don Antonio de Porcel (1806) by Goya. Destroyed in a fire in the Jockey Club, Buenos Aires, 1956.
  • A Vision of the Last Judgment (1808) by William Blake. Earlier versions and sketches survive, but the final version has not been seen since the cancellation of an 1810 exhibit it was to have been part of.
  • Large seated portraits of the first three U.S. presidents, Washington, Adams, and Thomas Jefferson by Gilbert Stuart were destroyed in a fire at the Library of Congress, December 24, 1851.
  • "George Washington Seated, in Roman dress", marble sculpture by Canova, destroyed by fire in the North Carolina State House, Raleigh, 1831. The artist's plaster model survives.
  • Winter (1807–08), The Farewell (1818), The Harbor at Grifswald (c. 1820), Autumn Landscape with Brush Collector (1824), and Evening (1825), by Caspar David Friedrich. Destroyed in the Glaspalast (Munich) fire, 1931.
  • Mountain Chapel in the Mist (1811), Monastery Graveyard in the Snow (1817–18), High Mountain Region (1824), and Northern Lights (1830–35) by Caspar David Friedrich.Destroyed by fire in the Friedrichshain Flakturm, following the capture of Berlin, May 1945.
  • The Mouth of the Thames (1807) by Joseph Mallord William Turner. Destroyed by enemy action in World War II.
  • Fish Market on the Sands (1830) by Turner. Formerly owned by Billy Rose. Destroyed by fire, 1956.
  • Aeneas Relating his Story to Dido (1850) by Turner.
  • War and Peace (1846) by Sir Edwin Landseer. Destroyed in the basement of the Tate Gallery during the Thames flood, January 1928.
  • Mississippi River Panorama (1840–46) by John Banvard. Promoted as a 'three-mile canvas', though it was only approximately half a mile (800 m) long. Banvard gave the panorama many showings, including one to Queen Victoria. It is thought to have been cut up into pieces towards the end of the 19th century.
  • Washington Crossing the Delaware (1849–50) (first version) by Emanuel Leutze. Destroyed in an air raid on Bremen, 1942.
  • Apotheosis of Napoleon I by Ingres. Ceiling painting for the Hôtel de Ville, Paris. Destroyed by fire in the Paris Commune, 1871.
  • The Storming of the Bastille (1830) by Paul Delaroche. Painted for the Hotel de Ville, Paris. Destroyed by fire in the Paris Commune, 1871.
  • Justinian Drafting his Laws (1826) by Eugène Delacroix. Painted for the Council of State, Paris. Destroyed by fire in the Paris Commune, 1871. An 1855 photograph survives.
  • Peace Consoles Mankind and Brings Abundance (1852–54) by Delacroix. Painted for the Hall of Peace at the Hotel de Ville, Paris. Destroyed by fire in the Paris Commune, 1871.
  • Murals of War and Peace (1848) by Theodore Chasseriau. Painted for the Cour des Comptes, Palais of the Quai d'Orsay, Paris. Destroyed by fire in the Paris Commune, 1871. A fragment of Peace is preserved in the Louvre.
  • The Jewish Captivity in Babylon by Jean-François Millet. Submitted for the Paris Salon, 1848. Painted over by the artist with a scene executed in Normandy in 1870-71.
  • The Stone Breakers, by Courbet, destroyed in transit from the Dresden Gallery in World War II.
  • The Return from the Conference (1863) by Courbet. Destroyed 1909 by its owner due to its anticlerical content.
  • Venus and Psyche (1864) by Courbet. Destroyed by enemy air action, Berlin, 1945.
  • Donkey Cart with Boy and Scheveningen Woman (1882) by Van Gogh. Destroyed by fire in 1940 (formerly in Rotterdam).
  • The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen with Pond and Figures (1885) by Van Gogh. Destroyed by fire in Rotterdam during the Second World War.
  • Windmill on Montmartre (1886) by Van Gogh. Destroyed by fire in 1967.
  • Still Life: Vase with Five Sunflowers (1888) by Van Gogh. Formerly in the collection of Koyata Yamamoto, Japan. Destroyed by American air raids on Ashiya District, August 5–6, 1945.
  • The Painter on his Way to Work (1888) by Van Gogh. Formerly in the Kaiser-Friedrich Museum, Berlin. Destroyed by fire in World War II.
  • The Park at Arles with the Entrance Seen Through the Trees (1888) by Van Gogh. Destroyed by fire in World War II.
  • The Lovers: The Poet's Garden IV (1888) by Van Gogh. Declared degenerate and confiscated by the Nazis in 1937. Whereabouts unknown.
  • The New Jerusalem by George Inness was destroyed in the partial collapse of Madison Square Garden in 1880. Salvaged fragments survive, including Valley of the Olive Trees in the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.
  • The Apparition, a lost oil by James Tissot (1885). A mezzotint by the artist exists.
  • Henri Rousseau's portrait of French playwright Alfred Jarry (1895) was destroyed by the sitter, who disliked it.
  • Head of Sir Henry Irving by John Singer Sargent. Destroyed by the sitter, who disliked it.
  • Portrait of Thomas Eakins by William Merritt Chase (c. 1899). Presumed destroyed by the sitter.
  • The Fabergé eggs; Hen with Sapphire Pendant (1886), Cherub with Chariot (1888), the Necessaire egg (1889), Alexander III Portraits egg (1896), and the Mauve egg (1898).

20th century

  • The Empire Nephrite (1902), Royal Danish (1903) and Alexander III Commemorative (1909) Fabergé eggs.
  • Musik II (1898), Schubert at the Piano (1899), Golden Apple Tree (1903), Procession of the Dead (1903), Klimt University of Vienna Ceiling Paintings: Medicine, Philosophy and Jurisprudence (1899–1907), Farm Garden with Crucifix (1911–12), Malcesine on Lake Garda (1913), Garden Path with Chickens (1916), Portrait of Wally (1916), The Girlfriends (c. 1916-17), Leda (1917), Gastein (1917), all by Gustav Klimt. Destroyed by a fire set by retreating German forces in 1945 at Schloss Immendorf, Austria.[1][2]
  • Tammany Hall at Night by John Sloan was destroyed by fire during transit. The artist later created a replica from photographs.
  • Several paintings, sculptures, and furnishings from the RMS Titanic (1912) and the RMS Lusitania (1915).
  • Two paintings by Claude Monet, including a major study of Water Lilies, were destroyed in a fire at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, in April 1958.
  • Diego Rivera's mural Man at the Crossroads (1933) was destroyed and removed in 1934 because its content (including a portrait of Lenin) offended Nelson Rockefeller, who had commissioned the work. Rivera later recreated the work as Man, Controller of the Universe in the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City.
  • Joan Miró's large mural on panels, The Reaper, (1937) depicting a Catalan peasant, was created for the Spanish Republican pavilion of the 1937 Paris Exposition. Afterwards it was sent to Valencia and probably destroyed.
  • Over 90% of the public works of German sculptor Arno Breker were destroyed by the allies after World War II.
  • Works of Arshile Gorky were lost when his studio burned in 1946. In addition, 15 abstract paintings and drawings by Gorky were lost in a 1962 plane crash."Disasters: Tragedy in Jamaica Bay". Time. Mar. 09, 1962. Retrieved February 16, 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  • Graham Sutherland's portrait of Winston Churchill (1954) was deliberately destroyed by Lady Churchill because she did not like it.
  • Numerous works of the Corridart exhibition were removed and impounded or destroyed on the orders of Montreal mayor Jean Drapeau in 1976, creating a scandal.
  • Some 20 works were created on camera and then deliberately destroyed by Pablo Picasso for the documentary Le Mystère Picasso (The Mystery of Picasso, 1956) [2].
  • On January 30, 1979, a Varig 707 freighter, registration PP-VLU, disappeared over the Pacific Ocean thirty minutes after departing Tokyo, Japan. The captain had previously been involved in another major accident, that of Varig Flight 820 in 1973. No wreckage or remains were ever located. The aircraft was carrying 153 paintings by the Japanese Brazilian artist Manabu Mabe, worth approximately $1.24 million US.
  • "Study after Velazquez III" (1950), Francis Bacon[3]. Third in a series of portraits after Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X, 1650. All three were thought destroyed by the artist until the first two surfaced 1999.
  • "Untitled Wall Relief", by Craig Kauffman (1967), an acrylic lacquer on Plexiglas piece, fell off the wall and shattered on July 16, 2006 at the Pompidou Center of Paris [4]
  • Untitled piece by Peter Alexander (1971), an 8 ft. x 5 in. molded polyester resin work, fell and shattered in April 2006 at the Pompidou Center of Paris [5]
  • The "Pearl Monument" (1982), which stood in the centre of the Pearl Roundabout, Bahrain. It was torn down by the Bahraini government on March 18, 2011 because it had been a focal point for protesters.
  • Anish Kapoor's wood and cement sculpture "Hole and Vessel" (1984) was discovered missing from its storage unit in 2004.
  • Richard Serra's 38-ton metal sculpture "Equal-Parallel/Guernica-Bengasi" (1986),"Equal-Parallel: Guernica-Bengasi". Ministry of Education (Spain). Retrieved February 16, 2012. formerly displayed at the Reina Sofia museum, could not be located in 2006.[3]
  • The "Goddess of Democracy" (1989) by students of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, was destroyed by The People's Liberation Army during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.
  • Rachel Whiteread's enormous sculpture "House" (1993) was destroyed by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets council on January 11, 1994.
  • Pablo Picasso's painting The Painter was lost aboard Swissair Flight 111 when it crashed into the waters off Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on September 2, 1998.[6]
  • Richard Serra's Tilted Arc (1981) was dismantled and removed in 1989.
  • Hélio Oiticica's almost whole collection (estimated at 2,000 works, or approximately 90%) was destroyed on October 16, 2009 in a fire at his brother's house. [7]
  • Dan Narita's painting Seeds was lost after last exhibited at The Mall Galleries as part of the Threadneedle Prize Exhibition in London 2012.

Works destroyed in the Murrah Building Bombing

In the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995, many works of art were destroyed.[4] The Oklahoma City National Memorial displays art that survived the bombing.

An untitled acrylic sculpture by Fred Eversley was severely damaged, but survived the blast.

Works destroyed in the September 11 attacks

Many works of art were destroyed in the September 11, 2001 attacks when the World Trade Center buildings collapsed.

Countless other works of art and valuable artifacts, found in safe deposit boxes located throughout the towers, were also destroyed.

Two other sculptures were damaged, but not destroyed by the attacks. These are Red Cube by Isamu Noguchi and Joie de Vivre by Mark di Suvero, located down the street from the World Trade Center. They were repaired and still stand today.

Works destroyed in the Momart fire

Many works by Britartists in the Saatchi collection, as well as work by other artists in different collections, were destroyed in the Momart warehouse fire in Leyton, east London, on May 24, 2004.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lost artworks.

References

  1. ^ Jones, Jonathan (May 6, 2008). "Klimt's Dazzling demons". The Guardian. Retrieved February 16, 2012. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  2. ^ SheilaTGTG55 (October 13, 2011). "The Fire At Schloss Immendorf". Open Salon. Retrieved February 16, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Govan, Fiona (July 11, 2006). "Anyone seen our missing 38-ton sculpture?". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  4. ^ An Oklahoma Tribute (PDF). US General Services Administration. pp. 24, 38–45.
  • Lost Treasures of Europe: 427 Photographs Henry Adams LaFarge (ed.), Pantheon (1946).
  • The Lost Museum: Glimpses of Vanished Originals Robert Adams, Viking Press (1980). ISBN 0-670-44107-4
  • Missing Masterpieces: Lost Works of Art, 1450–1900 Dr. Gert-Rudolf Flick, Merrell (2003). ISBN 1-85894-197-0
  • The eloquent and thorough post-war report, Works of Art in Italy: Losses and Survivals in the War, compiled by the British Committee on the Preservation and Restitution of Works of Art, London 1946, is an indispensable guide to the damage inflicted by wartime action throughout Italy between 1943 and 1945. It is posted online and also references other wartime articles on damage to works of art in Italy.
  • The authoritative source in English for paintings destroyed in the Friedrichshain Flakturm, Berlin, 1945 remains Christopher Norris, "The Disaster at Flakturm Friedrichshain; a Chronicle and List of Paintings", The Burlington Magazine, December 1952, Vol. XCIV, Number 597.

Further reading

  • Gamboni, Dario (1997). The Destruction of Art: Iconoclasm and Vandalism since the French Revolution. Reaktion Books. ISBN 978-1-86189-316-1.
  • Lambourne, Nicola (2001). War Damage in Western Europe: The Destruction of Historic Monuments During the Second World War. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 0-7486-1285-8.
  • Strong, Roy (1990). Lost Treasures of Britain: Five Centuries of Creation and Destruction. Viking. ISBN 978-0-670-83383-2.
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